A Cup of Cold Cocoa
by RaineKitsune
Summary: What’s the point in having hot chocolate when there's nothing hot about it? Well...it isn’t that bad… {KuramaxHiei}


**Summary:** What's the point in having hot chocolate when there's nothing hot about it? Well...it isn't _that_ bad… KuramaxHiei

Slight KuramaxHiei, one-shot, a hint of OOCness…

**A/N:** This idea actually came from a conversation that Prite and I were having. However, it changed quite a bit when I wrote it. It was supposed to be humorous, but it turned out all serious. Sorry about that, Prite.

I live in the U.S., so I'm used to the Fahrenheit temperature scale, but I converted it into Celsius in this fic because of the fact that it takes place in Japan. (…They _do_ use the Celsius scale, right? Oh well…) Anyway, twenty-six degrees Celsius is a bit below eighty degrees Fahrenheit, I believe.

No beta on this one, so please forgive me if there are any small mistakes.

Also, ----- means that there's a time lapse, while the longer lines just separate the story from the notes...

**Written:** November 27, 2004

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**A Cup of Cold Cocoa**

Kurama smiled as he studied the sidewalk that lay stretched out before him. The first snow of winter had finally come and he'd made certain that he would be the first one out to shovel the sidewalk in front of his apartment building. And he had to admit, he'd shoveled it _damn_ good.

He nodded to himself and turned to head back into his apartment. The other tenants would be awed at his excellent job at shoveling the snow from the sidewalk. So awed that they'd lavish praise and treats upon him. Or something akin to that.

After opening the door to his apartment and walking inside, the redhead immediately stripped off his jacket and went to check the thermostat.

Twenty-six degrees Celsius.

No wonder it was sweltering hot. Kurama stared at the odd reading, wondering how it could have been accidentally set to such a high temperature.

Shrugging it off and blaming it on his recent lack of sleep, he simply turned the knob back down to room temperature. He quickly walked over to a nearby window and pushed it open, opening the storm window behind it as well. That would help it cool down in here…

The former fox --but still incredibly foxy human-- walked over to his couch and plopped down. After turning on the television and relaxing, he felt his eyelids beginning to droop. The heat of the room added to his sleepiness and he soon found himself drifting off.

-----

Waking up and being able to see your breath had to be one of the worst ways Kurama'd ever been awakened, he decided. Then again, there were all those times back in the Makai… Being able to see your breath was definitely not a good thing though. Kurama stiffly stood up and walked to the window to close it.

Shivering, he went to the kitchen and filled his kettle with water. After setting it on the stove and turning the heat to high, he proceeded to rummage through his pantry until finding his box of hot chocolate mix. Just the thing he needed to warm up. The apartment's heat was on, of course, but nothing warmed you up on the inside like a nice cup of hot cocoa. Actually, there were a couple of other he could think of, but it's best not to mention them here.

The redhead went back to the kitchen and --after setting the box of cocoa mix onto the table-- he leaned against the counter to wait for the water in the kettle to be brought to a boil. When finally the kettle had begun it's high-pitched whistle, alerting the boy that the water was boiling, he quickly turned off the stove and grabbed a big mug. He grabbed a packet of the chocolate powder out of the box on the table and emptied its contents into the mug. After pouring the steaming water into the mug, he turned to get a spoon from a few drawers over.

"What are you making, Kurama?" Startled by the sudden question when he thought he was alone, the one-time thief took a quick step back and bumped into the counter. Glancing down, he saw the familiar face of a certain fire demon. "You're losing your touch. You should've known that I was here," he stated in a plain and emotionless tone.

"Hello there, Hiei," Kurama said, smiling down at the shorter boy. He moved to the drawer a few feet away and got out the spoon that he had originally turned around to get. Walking back to his mug, he stirred the water and the powder to ensure that they mixed well. "So, how have you been?" he asked the small demon, attempting to make small talk.

"Cold," Hiei dully stated. "What are you making?" The demon repeated his question, seeing as how it had not yet been answered.

Kurama had noticed that the heat had been on for a long time and it had, once again, become a bit hotter than what was comfortable. Glancing out of the corner of his eye at Hiei, he wondered to himself how long the demon had been in the apartment. "Hot chocolate," he finally replied to Hiei.

Grabbing the mug and carrying it with him to the living room, Kurama went to check the thermostat.

Twenty-six degrees.

He quickly turned the knob and set it back down to room temperature.

Turning around to face the fire demon that had silently followed him into the room, he asked, "Since when did you learn to use a thermostat?"

"I'm not stupid."

Kurama finally got the chance to really look at Hiei and now noticed that his cloak was conspicuously absent, as were his scarf and boots. His complexion also seemed a bit paler than usual. "Where…?" Hiei glanced toward the door and his discarded cloak, scarf, and boots that lay near it. Kurama must have been really tired not to have noticed them earlier. A small pool of water beneath the items of clothing told Kurama all he needed to know. "Stay here," he told the smaller demon, leaving him to stand alone in the living room. He set his mug of cooling cocoa on a table as he passed it.

In moments he returned, a blanket in hand. He tossed it at Hiei, whom had just removed his hand from the thermostat's knob. Walking over to the thermostat, he once again set it at room temperature. "If you're _that_ cold, warm yourself up. You _are_ a fire demon, after all."

"If I were to do that, this apartment building would be nothing but a pile of ashes." Hiei's hand again reached for the thermostat, but Kurama quickly smacked it away as you would a child's.

"I'll make you something warm to drink and dry your clothes. In the meantime, go sit on the couch and try to use the blanket to warm up." With a small frown on his face, the fire demon silently obeyed. It was _Kurama's_ apartment, not his, and the fox had the right to control the temperature.

Said fox quickly went to the kitchen and refilled the kettle, setting it on the stove and turning the heat to high. He hurried back into the living room and gathered together Hiei's wet clothing. Taking it to the laundry room, he threw the cloak and scarf into the washer. It wouldn't hurt to get the dirt out of them. He set the boots upside down in a corner to let them dry. The boots would _kill_ his dryer.

At hearing the kettle's whistle, the now-human boy ran back to the kitchen to take the kettle off of the stove. He got down another big mug and mixed a packet of cocoa mix into the steaming water that he soon poured into the mug. Kurama hurried back into the living room and handed the mug to Hiei. The latter of the two suspiciously sniffed at the steaming liquid. "What's _this_?"

Kurama glanced at the thermostat as the heat suddenly kicked on again.

Twenty-six degrees Celsius. Again.

He quickly turned the knob and changed it back to twenty-two degrees. "A deadly poison that will rot you from the inside and outward if you ever touch the thermostat again," he finally replied to Hiei's question.

Hiei frowned at Kurama's sarcastic reply, but cautiously took a sip of the hot liquid. The fox finally grabbed his mug and sat down near the smaller demon. It would have been a lot easier if Hiei had simply come over when the snow had started falling the night before.

Taking a sip of his hot cocoa, he found it cold. He mentally sighed. If Hiei'd just come over earlier…

Glancing toward the said demon, he smiled. A small ring of chocolate surrounded his mouth and his mug sat empty on the table next to him.

Maybe cold cocoa wasn't so bad after all.

**-END-**

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**A/N:** Reviews will be greatly appreciated. :)


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